Friday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on U.S. international trade in goods and services in the month of August, showing that the trade deficit narrowed as the value of imports fell faster than the value of exports.
The report showed that the trade deficit narrowed to $59.1 billion in August from a revised $61.3 billion in July. Economists had been expecting the trade deficit to narrow to $59.0 billion compared to the deficit of $62.2 billion originally reported for the previous month.
While the value of both imports and exports decreased compared to the previous month, the value of imports showed a somewhat more substantial decrease, contributing to the narrower deficit.
The Commerce Department said that the value of imports fell 2.4 percent to $223.9 billion in August from $229.3 billion in July. At the same, the value of exports fell by a more modest 2.0 percent to $164.7 billion from $168.1 billion.
Additionally, the report showed that the goods deficit narrowed to $70.9 billion in August from $74.1 billion in July, while the services surplus narrowed to $11.8 billion from $12.8 billion in the previous month.
In other economic news, the Labor Department released a separate report showing a continued decrease in import and export prices in the month of September, with prices falling for the second consecutive month.
The report showed that import prices fell 3.0 percent in September following a 2.6 percent decrease in August. The continued decrease was largely due to a steep drop in petroleum import prices, which fell by 9.0 percent.
The Labor Department added that export prices showed a 1.0 percent decline in September compared to a 1.7 percent decrease in the previous month. A 0.3 percent decrease in agricultural export prices contributed to the decrease in total export prices.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.